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Board of County Commissioners Meeting Minutes - Final September 13, 2019 6. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS DISCUSSION AND ACTION Chairman Solari asked if the Sheriffs Office had any rebuttal that they would like to present. Attorney Harpring presented his rebuttal stating that the Union's charge of retaliatory conduct by the Sheriffs Office was untrue and that the Sheriffs proposal dated November 2,2018 was lawful. He addressed the issue of the long-tenured employee's topped-out salary, explaining that in the year 2008,there was an economic turndown and that it was not until the 2013 budget that the Sheriff was afforded sufficient funds for salary increases with the primary goal to avoid layoffs. Attorney Burton responded that the Union did not claim the Sheriffs proposal was unlawful, but asked the question of whether it was "right". Chairman Solari asked if there was anyone from the Board who wanted to ask questions of the Sheriffs Office. Commissioner Flescher stated that one of the Sheriffs objections was salary compression and asked if Attorney Harpring could clarify salary compression for the public. Attorney Harpring, as an example, explained that the Sheriffs Office did not have salary increases during the economic downturn and therefore there were deputies with lower seniority making a higher salary than those with higher seniority.A discussion ensued with Attorney Harpring clarifying previous rate increases,base salary increases for new employees, and pay grades. Chairman Solari asked if there was anyone from the Board who wanted to ask questions of the Union. Commissioner Flescher referred to Detective Karman,pointing out that top of the pay grade was one of the Union's issues. Detective Karman clarified that only four (4)existing deputies that was at the top of the pay grade would be affected by the Special Magistrate's recommendation to increase their salary from $63,151 to $65,867, and there was only 14 deputies with 20 years of experience with the County that would be moved to an annual salary of$63,151. Chairman Solari opened the floor for public comments. Roy Raymond, former Sheriff of Indian River County, supported the Special Magistrate's recommendation and discussed the Comprehensive Salary and Benefit Study for the Sheriffs Office,which was designed to carry on for years,keep the department competitive, and would not be a high impact to the taxpayer going forward. He expressed his displeasure that the PowerPoint Presentation was released to the Sheriffs Office prior to the Union being able to present it to the Board. Indian River County Florida Page 4